


A Hard Place

by BettyHT



Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 10:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16324160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: After a cattle drive, Adam gets sick, and when Ben starts getting some of the same symptoms, Joe finds that he has to be the one making the decisions on the journey home. It's a tough job especially because the outlaws trailing them think they have the money from the cattle drive with them.  Joe has to come up with a plan or two to get them out of all these problems and save their lives.





	A Hard Place

A Hard Place

Chapter 1

With blue skies visible out the window and a successful drive completed, Little Joe Cartwright lay in bed and enjoyed the soft comfort of the hotel bed as long as he could. There was no rush although he knew his father and Adam would be anxious to get going because they were always in a hurry to get going. He took it as his personal responsibility to get them to relax and enjoy life more. Heck, if it wasn't for him, they would probably have gulped down their breakfast, swallowed their coffee while it was too hot to enjoy, and headed to the livery stable intent on making as many miles as possible as if all those miles of dust and watching the behinds of cattle for six weeks wasn't enough to last them for a long time. He thought he would wait until they sent Hoss up to fetch him. It wouldn't take him long then, but of course he'd have to order breakfast when he got downstairs because he wouldn't want what they had ordered for him no matter what they had ordered. He was going to order something else and stretch this out as long as possible, and if his brothers objected, he knew that look he could give his father that would work. It always did, or almost always did, but had a high rate of success when it came to food. Skinny as he was, his father wanted him to eat so if he showed some genuine interest in a meal, well, his father wasn't going to be negative about that no matter how grumpy Adam might get about it. Of course, Hoss might decide to eat more then too which would made Adam start thinking of funny things to say or funny stories to tell about their middle brother and his eating. Soon Hoss would be sputtering and fuming all in fun back at him. Adam would get that smirk and their father would get that fake glower and tell them to stop as if they were schoolboys and would listen to him anyway. It was a great way to start a day as far as Little Joe Cartwright was concerned. And then there it was. That thumping down the hall of those great big feet and the door pushed in.

"Little Joe, Pa says ifn you sleep in that bed any longer, your toes gonna rot. He says he wants you downstairs in ten minutes or we're liable to up and leave without ya."

"Hoss, I was tired. I'll be right down soon as I take care of what's necessary and pull on my pants. Jeez, a guy needs to get some sleep after working for six weeks and hardly ever getting a full night's sleep with Adam putting me on nighthawk duty practically every night it seemed."

"Now, Little Joe don't go getting like that already. You only had it every third night same as me and Adam. He didn't give you no more than what he give himself. Now, you come on down an make nice with everybody, won't ya? Besides, Adam's looking a little peaked this morning. He's trying to hide that cough from Pa. I think mebbe he's not feeling so good."

"I thought he said that cough was from all the trail dust and the cattle and he'd be fine once he had chance at a bath or two and a chance to sleep in a nice bed."

"Yeah, he said that, but you know our older brother. So mebbe lay off him some. All right?"

"All right. I'll be down to have breakfast in a few minutes."

"Pa was gonna order up some for ya. It should be ready when ya get there."

Struggling to pull his shirt over his head, Joe didn't answer assuming Hoss would be gone before he had to do that. He was. Joe smiled, pulled on his pants and boots before stuffing extra clothing in his saddlebags and grabbing his pistol and rifle before heading downstairs although not too fast. He didn't want them to think he'd rushed or anything like that. When he got to the table, he found a stack of flapjacks with a side of ham waiting for him.

"Aw, Pa, I was hoping for eggs and bacon this morning. You know, something that would stick with me longer seeing as we're going to be riding all day and then the day after and the day after."

"Oh, all right. That shouldn't take too long. Hoss, do you want any of these, or Adam, do you?"

Hoss eagerly took some but Adam declined as he sipped coffee. Adam also said nothing. He didn't complain about the delay nor about Joe's tardiness. He didn't have any jibes for Hoss and his second breakfast in an hour. He poured himself another cup of coffee and drank that keeping quiet. Ben was busy ordering Joe's new breakfast and didn't seem to notice. Joe did and looked across at Hoss who nodded. Something was definitely amiss. When Joe's breakfast came, it was huge and he had to eat it all seeing as he had made such a production out of ordering it. He did offer one of the biscuits to Adam knowing how he liked biscuits. Adam declined, but Joe said he'd put it in a napkin and save it for him if he could. His older brother nodded at that but said nothing. Ben was starting to notice too that Adam seemed quiet and Joe regretted drawing attention to it knowing Adam wouldn't appreciate that.

"Adam, are you all right?"

"Sure he is, Pa. He probably is just in awe of how much I can eat this morning. I was famished. Have you ever seen me eat this much? I keep eating like this, I might get as big as Hoss. Well, maybe not as big as Hoss. Maybe I'll get as big as Adam."

Ben had to laugh, but it had the desired effect deflecting his attention away from Adam who seemed to appreciate what Joe had done. As they got up from the table, Adam lightly slapped Joe on the shoulder but said nothing as they followed their father from the hotel restaurant out to the street. Instead of going directly to the livery stable though, they stopped at the bank. Ben took Adam's saddlebags and went inside coming out fifteen minutes later and tossing the saddlebags to Adam.

"What's going on Pa? I thought we was taking the money with us."

"No, Hoss, last night Adam convinced me that with only the four of us and taking the cut over the mountains to get home quicker, it would be much safer to deposit the money in the branch bank here and send a wire transfer to our bank in Virginia City. It's all been taken care of now. I have some cash but not much. Adam was going to be carrying the cash but doesn't have to worry about it now."

Seeing Adam rearranging his saddlebags, Joe had to ask though. "If those aren't wads of money in there, what have you got in there?"

Adam only smiled so Ben answered. "He bought some French milled soap bars for a lovely lady that he says will appreciate them, and he will appreciate her even more after she bathes using them."

All the way to the livery stable, Joe and Hoss were pestering Adam as to the identity of the lady, but he wasn't talking. It wasn't only the sore throat stopping him. He wouldn't have told them anyway. Well, he might have told Hoss, but he wouldn't have told Joe. He knew what would happen if his little brother knew. It would be incessant teasing all the way back home and he didn't want a solid week of that.

Across the street and too far away to hear any of the conversation, four men watched without being too obvious about it. They knew the Cartwrights had finished a drive and had money or would get money. They weren't sure which. They had been watching them for a couple of days ever since they had gotten to town. When they had sent their cook, chuckwagon, and hands ahead of them on the way back home, they decision to stay to see if they could get that money became a definite yes. When Ben came out of the bank and tossed that saddlebag to Adam and he rummaged around in it with a smile and the others were smiling too, they assumed that meant that Ben had gotten cash and it was in that saddlebag. Now, all they had to do was get that saddlebag. They waited to see what the four were going to do next.

It didn't take long. They got their horses and a packhorse, stopped at the general store for supplies, and then headed out of town going east. The four got their horses and supplies and headed out about an hour behind them. It wouldn't do to be too close to them yet. They wouldn't attack them for at least three days. They wanted them deep in the mountains and far from help before they sprang an ambush. It might even take longer to set it up, but once they were in the mountains, they might even work to get ahead of them to set the trap.

Up ahead, Hoss passed over some lemon drops to Adam when their father wasn't paying attention. He was in the lead with Joe leading the packhorse right behind him. Hoss rode up beside Adam who was next.

"Here, these should help. The man in the store said lemon drops work best, but ifn they don't, I got some peppermint sticks and some butterscotch balls too. I figure I can afford ten cents for my brother."

"Ten cents! I don't need that much."

"You don't think I only bought some for you, do ya? Ifn I did, Pa would know fer shur that you're sick. Nah, I got some too. I'm only sharing with you. He won't know nothing's wrong less you get worse. I hope ya don't."

"Me too. I feel bad enough already."

Hoss didn't like the sound of that, and neither did Little Joe when he shared the news with him when they stopped for a break later. Adam didn't easily admit to being ill. If he said that, he must be feeling very ill. Joe asked if maybe they should tell their father.

"Maybe we shouldn't head into the mountains at all if he's sick. What if he gets worse?"

"I don't know. Let's see what tomorrow brings first. We ain't in the mountains yet."

"All right, but if he's worse, I'm telling Pa. I don't care if Adam gets mad at me. He'd tell Pa if it was one of us that was feeling that bad." Hoss nodded because he knew that Joe was right, but he didn't like butting heads with his older brother. Joe was more like Adam and willing to do it. All Hoss could do was support both of them and hope it all worked out. Joe did suggest a plan for when they stopped for the night. It worked perfectly. Sometimes Joe's schemes did work out especially when it wasn't about making money. As soon as they stopped, Hoss suggested what Joe had told him to say.

"Dang, I'm so stiff, I think I won't mind taking care of all the horses. It'll feel good to be up and around and doing something."

As expected, their father readily agreed. He no longer liked a long day in the saddle and looked forward to the chance to relax at the end of the day. Joe then jumped in with his part.

"Oh, no, you're not taking care of my horse. Cooch and me are a team. I'll take care of him and the packhorse. Here, I'll unload the packhorse and then I'll be down by the stream with the two of them. You stay away from my horse."

"All right, all right. Sheesh, let me get the saddles and bedrolls off these three and you go take care of your two."

That left Adam and Ben to set up the camp. Now Ben was not a good scratch cook and they knew it. He would likely immediately set Adam to that task and he did offering to get some water and roll out the bedrolls as soon as they had some firewood. By the time Hoss and Joe got back to camp, Adam was sitting by a warm fire cooking their meal, and Ben was busy finishing up with the bedrolls around the fire. The camp looked mighty inviting and they said so. Adam knew what they had done and tipped his hat to both of them. Soon after, with a nice campfire, they were all rolled into their bedrolls for a good night's sleep. In the morning, Adam seemed about the same so they headed out as they had the day before with the mountains a lot closer than they had been. One more day and they would be in the mountains.

All that day and again that evening, Joe orchestrated things so that Adam didn't have to do much other than take care of himself. Joe and Hoss took turns leading the packhorse, watering the horses, and getting firewood. Ben appreciated all that they did, and they camouflaged things so well that he didn't realize that Adam wasn't doing much of anything. However Joe was wondering if the whole thing might not be one of Adam's great scams. He was quite good at being sneaky and even Hoss had mentioned that a few times in the past.

"Nah, Joe, I don't think even our sneaky brother could pull this one off. Nah, I think he's really sick."

That thought stuck with Joe that night though, and in the morning, he decided he needed to test it out. When their father walked off into the trees to do what he needed to do, Joe put a hand to Adam's forehead. He was surprised by two things. One, Adam didn't swat his hand away but almost meekly let him check his temperature before gently pushing his hand away as he took a sip of his coffee. He never looked at Joe. The other thing was what he said to Hoss who had seen what he had done and stepped closer to mediate if necessary.

"He's burning with fever. He's a lot sicker than we thought."

Chapter 2

Both Hoss and Joe thought they ought to tell their father about Adam's fever, but their older brother used his logic on them. "We're two days from a town. It will be two days to get back to anything. In two more days, we'll almost be back to the Ponderosa. There you know Hop Sing will be back and ready to help. I'd rather be home than sitting in some nondescript little town among strangers."

Knowing they would likely have to leave him there so they could get back to the Ponderosa, Hoss was more willing to consider his point of view. "But kin ya ride?"

"If the two of you keep helping like you have been, I'll hang on. I don't have a lot of energy, but otherwise, I don't feel that bad."

However Joe wasn't so sure that it was the best decision. "Adam, are you being honest about that? We know how you say you're find when you're really not. It wouldn't be right to make us think we're making the right decision and then find out you're a lot sicker than we think you are."

"I am as sick as you think I am. You've been covering for me for most of two days. Nothing has changed."

Inclining his head once in agreement, Joe went to see to the horses as Hoss looked over at his older brother. "Joe's a lot like you, you know. He seen that there was something to do and took over. He's kinda acting like the trail boss now running the show."

Not having paid much attention to that because of how rotten he felt, Adam had to admit it was true. "He's doing a good job too. I don't think Pa is worried yet."

That was true, but as the day went on, Ben began to get worried. Something had been nagging at his thoughts but hadn't coalesced into any concrete conclusions until he paid attention to his sons that day and how things were done. He noticed Joe seemed to be in charge and that he and Hoss handled the pack horse all day with Adam not taking a turn at all. He noticed that either Joe or Hoss rode directly behind him as he led the way home with either Joe or Hoss taking the last position in line too. Adam was always third. When they made a stop, Adam seemed to be out of sight much of the time which meant he was probably not doing any of the tasks normally associated with a rest stop for the horses. That evening as they picked out a good place to camp, Ben didn't immediately offer to do the camp chores as he had the previous night. Instead, he looked at his three sons and addressed Joe.

"I think it's about time you told me what's going on, and because you seem to be in charge, you're the one who can do the talking."

With a glance at Adam, Joe was going to talk but Adam interrupted. "It's not really his fault that things are not going the way you expected. It's my fault."

"Damn it, Adam. It's not anyone's fault. Pa asked me to talk, so let me talk."

With a glare then, Joe stared down Adam until he raised his hands in surrender and sat down heavily on a log. He didn't have the energy even for an argument. That was as telling as anything else and told Ben part of what he needed to know, but he waited for Joe to talk.

"We figured out that Adam was feeling well so we decided to help him out so he could make it home in as good a shape as possible. We talked to him this morning about telling you and turning back, but it was two days back to a town, and he'd rather be back at the Ponderosa with Hop Sing than laying around in a town with strangers taking care of him. We understood that. We'll be home soon enough. He's got a fever and is feeling weak and tired. If he can deal with that, we can handle the work so he can ride and get home."

"And you didn't think I had a right to know this?"

"We didn't want you to worry." Even as he said it, Joe knew it was wrong. They had played into Adam's game and that was wrong. "I'm sorry, Pa. We should have told you even if Adam didn't want you to know. Sometimes maybe I'm too used to doing what he says."

"Don't worry about it, Joe. I know how your oldest brother can be. I've dealt with him longer that you have. Now that I know, we can all work together on this." Turning to Adam, Ben had a question. "Do you think you can still cook?" Ben rather hoped he could because he was the best cook of the four of them but wouldn't push the issue because he or Hoss could make a passable meal.

"I can cook."

"All right, then that is all that you are to do. You can sit right there until we have things ready for you and then you can cook dinner. Joe, you've been doing a good job assigning work, so why don't you keep doing that?"

With a big grin, Joe was more than happy to do that. He had Ben and Hoss rolling their eyes, and even Adam as sick as he was managed a small smile that faded as soon as the others left him alone to tend to their tasks. Up above the four, four other sets of eyes watched the camp preparations. Again, Ben had chosen an easily defensible site stymying the intentions of the four outlaws to attack at night. With a backdrop of large boulders, the Cartwrights could not be approached except by coming up the trail from one side or the other. The trees would block them from trying to ambush them from a distance because although they might get one, the others would have great cover and then the hunters might become the hunted. No, the four decided that their other plan to get ahead of them to ambush them was now the better plan. It meant a couple of days of hard riding through the mountains, but they knew where the four were going so they knew where to intercept them. As they saw that one looked ill, they assumed that the four Cartwrights would be traveling slowly by comparison. They had already seen that Adam looked sick the day before and had waited to make sure they didn't turn back. Now with an hour left of daylight, they moved to gain some distance before making camp, and hoped to get a very early start the next day.

Meanwhile as Adam cooked dinner, Joe had a question for Hoss as they took care of the horses. "You feel anything strange today?"

"Ya mean like are the hairs standing up on the back of my neck every now and then? Yeah, I have, and a coupla times, I noticed there was no birds singing and nothing moving, but then they'd be back like everything was all right."

"Yes, same here. It's why I liked this spot that Pa picked for camp. Maybe tonight, we ought to think of setting a guard."

"Maybe, but I hate to worry Pa or especially Adam."

"I've been thinking about that too. Maybe we could do it without them really noticing. Adam will crawl in his bedroll early. We know that. He's exhausted. Pa's not far behind. We can do that too, but I'll sit up and stay awake. You go to sleep. After a couple of hours, I'll wake you and you can be on watch for a couple of hours. If nothing happens, then we can both sleep."

"Ya think that'll work?"

"If anyone or anything is going to do something, they're likely to do it by then. We know Pa will wake up before dawn. He always does. He'll likely build up the fire and make more coffee. He'll kind of be on watch then too."

"Joe, that's real smart of ya. Yeah, we kin do it."

Although he liked the feeling of having the authority, Joe was also feeling the pressure of being in charge. It was that double-edged sword that he had heard Adam mention, and each time he was in a situation like this, he understood it better. The more he thought about what he and Hoss had discussed, the more he wondered if they ought to take the longer but safer route home. It was safer, but then Adam would be on the trail longer and was sick. Joe had to balance his worries about their safety because of potential threats with his real concern about his brother who was in fact already ill. He made the decision that he wouldn't suggest the alternative route. It weighed heavily on his mind though, and Adam noticed in the morning that he was worried. His older brother always seemed to notice things like that.

"What's bothering you?"

"Oh, maybe that you're sick and we still have at least three days and maybe four before we can get you home."

"Joe, don't try to fool me. I've used that trick on Pa, and I think you learned it from me. It won't work. What's really bothering you?"

Irritated that Adam didn't accept his first answer, Joe was going to give a sharp retort but thought better of it. Adam was sick and still concerned about him. He deserved better. When he turned to Adam to answer, he got a small smile from his older brother.

"What's that for?"

"Oh, I think you were wrestling with yourself, and I'm glad to see which side won."

All Joe could do was shake his head. His older brother could make jokes even if he was facing the gallows it seemed. "Yeah. Well, both Hoss and I think maybe someone might be following us. We've had that feeling for a couple of days even though we haven't seen anything. We did a watch last night after you and Pa fell asleep. Nothing happened."

Looking concerned, Adam had a question. "You consider heading down into the valley?"

"Yes, but that adds a couple of days to our travel."

"Might be worth it."

"If we see any sign of trouble or any tracks or anything, we will. Fair enough?"

"Sounds good to me. You're the boss." Adam sounded almost like he was fine, but as he tried to stand, Joe moved to help him. It was clear that he was getting weaker.

"Adam, are you feeling worse? You said you would tell us if you were."

"Not worse, but it's wearing on me. That's all. Otherwise, I'm feeling about the same."

Joe looked doubtful, but Adam shook his head, and Joe knew. Adam wouldn't lie to him. "All right, but we may take a few more rest stops today then, and Pa's going to figure out that you're getting weak."

"I think he already has." Adam indicated with a tip of his head that their father was standing only fifteen feet away and had probably seen Joe helping Adam stand.

"Joe, Adam, you have something to tell me?"

Adam sighed deeply and Joe knew it was up to him. He helped Adam walk to his horse as he explained that Adam wasn't sicker but that the prolonged illness was making him weaker. Then he told his father about what he and Hoss suspected. Ben had the same concerns as Adam. All of them were going to be more alert for signs although they knew it was doubtful that Adam would notice anything after they had been on the trail even a short time. He would be spending his time trying to stay in the saddle. None of them saw anything that day and still set a guard on their camp that night. Hoss did some scouting around and found nothing. In the morning, they headed out but more worried than the day before because Adam was becoming pale and listless. He claimed not to feel more sick but looked it. That morning, he didn't cook breakfast or even talk more than he had to in order to answer that question about how he felt.

"Joe, there's an old hunting cabin less than a day's ride now if we veer off toward the south. I think we ought to try to get there and then get Adam to rest while you go on ahead for help. All this riding is exhausting him."

Looking over at Adam who had his head down and wasn't even reacting to what was being said, Joe knew they had to alter their plan, but he had an alternative. "Why don't I take Adam and head to that cabin. I can take care of him there while you and Hoss head home and then come back here with help."

"That's good, but I should be the one to stay with my son."

"Not this time, Pa. Hoss and I both heard you coughing this morning. We noticed you didn't eat much breakfast. You've got it too probably." Joe waited as Hoss leaned over and touched their father's forehead before Ben swatted his hand away confirming with that gesture that he knew he had a fever. "I'm feeling fine yet so I'm the best one to stay with Adam. Without Adam, you should be able to travel faster and be home before you get as sick as he is. He'll be better off resting than trying to ride. Don't worry, Pa. I'll take good care of my oldest brother. He's done it for me plenty of times. I know how it's done."

"You should take the packhorse then so you have enough supplies."

"I was going to suggest that. You'll travel faster without him too."

It didn't take long, and Joe waved goodbye and led the packhorse and Adam's horse down the slope toward the valley and the hunting cabin. He set a good pace but not one that would exhaust his brother. He knew too that the trail they were on made it easier for Adam to stay in the saddle than the mountain trail that they had been on. Adam remarked on that during their afternoon break, and Joe told him that he thought they were within a couple of hours of the cabin. He thought Adam looked very relieved at that news, and knew he was using whatever reserves of strength he had left. It was with great relief that Joe was able to rouse Adam two hours later to tell him to look ahead. The cabin was still there and the roof was intact. Joe had been worried about that as he hadn't seen that cabin in a year, but it looked sound. He started the horses again intent on getting his brother inside and resting as soon as he could unaware that they had been trailed.

Chapter 3

Four men hung back in some trees watching Joe help Adam into the cabin and they were highly frustrated by what had happened. One of them harangued the leader of their small group. "We should have taken those other two. These two are gonna go sit in that cabin while we sit out here another night."

"We didn't know what they was gonna do. That one in black still has that saddlebag on his horse. We thought they must be taking the money someplace."

"Well, it looks like they ain't."

"Maybe they still have it."

"Maybe they don't."

The leader of the group was angry at all of them then. "If they don't, then we hold them or one of them and get the money for him. His pa will pay to get him back."

"Kidnapping? That's too dangerous. I don't want any part of that."

"Well, then we need to find out if they've got the money."

"That cabin looks hard to take."

The leader looked it over, and he could see that it was. The cabin backed up against a sheer cliff with a clear slope in front of it. Anyone approaching would have to ride uphill toward the cabin in plain view of anyone in the cabin. To one side, there was a steep drop-off with a rocky stream. There was no access that way or not a safe one. He looked it over and wondered how they would manage to take the two men.

"We'll have to wait until dark and then move in on foot." He could see the men didn't like that idea, but he had nothing better. He planned to think about it to see if he could come up with something.

At the cabin, Joe was thinking that he better come up with something too. He had seen a flash of sunlight on metal in the distant trees as he went to help Adam from his horse. He looked back several times and was sure he saw some movement in the shadows of the trees. The men were trying to be stealthy but weren't good enough at it in daylight. He guessed they were the ones who had been making both he and Hoss nervous for days. Why they had followed him and Adam to the cabin, he didn't know but did know it couldn't be for any good reason. He hurried Adam into the cabin and helped him sit on a chair. He got back outside and pulled all three horses behind the cabin to the small corral there relieved that it was so out of sight. He grabbed a bucket from the cabin and got water setting that inside and then gathered grass for the horses. They had taken quite a few breaks that day so the horses weren't famished but they would want something to eat. He gathered what he thought would satisfy them, pulled the saddles and packs to take all of that inside all the while looking down the slope to be sure that the men in those trees were not approaching. When he got back inside, he found that Adam was sound asleep with his head on his arm on the table. Joe took a look out the window to make sure the slope was still clear and then began organizing their food and gear. He had a small fire in the fireplace and dinner cooking in short order. Adam almost roused several times but it was the smells from that food that finally brought him to open his eyes.

"That smells good, but why are you jumping around from there to the window like a rabbit?"

Joe snapped at him. "I'm not a rabbit. I just have a lot to do with you sleeping. It was a lot so don't complain."

"Sorry, Joe. I would have helped if I could."

That made Joe regret what he had said almost as if Adam had known it would. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I know you're sick and can't help. Heck, it was my idea to come here with you to take care of you. I had no right to complain about it." Moving to the fireplace, Joe stirred the pot of food and pulled the coffeepot away and set it on the table getting two tin cups that he had set out earlier.

"Joe, you want to tell me what's really wrong? And please remember that I am sick. I don't have the energy for a long conversation while I try to drag it out of you."

That got a small smile from Joe who sat down across from Adam and sighed deeply once before explaining about what he had seen and what he suspected. "Adam, I don't know why they followed us, but they obviously did, and I'm worried about what's going to happen when it gets dark. I think I saw what looked like three or four of them. I don't think I can stop that many in the dark."

"Joe, I can help, and we've got the cover of the cabin. They have to come up the slope."

"But you're sick."

"I can still use a rifle. I know I probably couldn't hit anything with a pistol. I'd have trouble holding it steady enough, but give me something to rest a rifle on, and I think I can do some damage. Maybe it won't be as much as I could do if I wasn't sick, but I can still help."

Looking around then, Joe thought through what Adam had said and evaluated what was in the cabin. "All right, if you think you can do it, I can set you up by the window. We'll use the table and a chair so you can sit and have the table to lean on. I can use a bag of beans for a rifle rest and you can point it out the window. We might have to put something on the chair so you're high enough, but that should work, don't you think?"

"Yes, and the bed is close to the window so I can get there on my own. You won't have to help me."

Joe had thought of that but had not wanted to point it out and emphasize his brother's weakness. It was a good point though and he acknowledged it. He had everything organized in a short time, and as Adam slept on the bed, he let the fire die out so that they would be able to see better. He had no lamp burning either so only the light glow of the embers that were left cast a dim light. It was all they would need. As darkness descended rapidly with the sun sinking below the horizon, he heard a voice hail them.

"Yo, in the cabin. I got an offer for ya."

Moving to the door, Joe cautiously cracked it open before yelling out. "What's the offer?"

"You give us the money in that saddlebag and we leave you alone. Throw it on out and I'll send a man to get it. Then we'll leave."

Hearing noise behind him, Joe knew that Adam had awakened and had moved into position. It gave him a little bit of relief, but the man's demand had confused him. "We don't have any money. We have supplies and not much of those any more."

"Don't lie. We saw you come out of that bank with that saddlebag. It was full. You still have it so toss it out here, and you can live."

"We put the money in the bank. We didn't take any out. We sent a wire transfer. All that was left in that saddlebag was soap and new shirts."

"Don't mess with me, boy. We got four and there's only two of you, and we know one is sick. We can wait you out. You won't be able to leave that cabin for nothing. We can shoot holes in that cabin from dawn until dusk. Heck we can shoot holes in it all night long if we want."

Turning to Adam, Joe asked what they could do. Adam had no answer. Joe said what Adam was probably thinking if he could think clearly enough to put it all together. "They won't believe us, and they're right. They can't get to us, but we can't leave, and if they start shooting, we're going to be stuck in here. I guess we better get ready for that." Pushing the door nearly closed, Joe made sure that he was standing where no bullet could easily penetrate to hit him. He had his rifle at the ready and pulled it up ready to shoot. Then so many bullets hit that door that he had to drop to his knees and out of the way of wood splinters flying as the door flew back. After the first barrage, he managed to crawl to the door and slam it shut grateful that it was think timber and had survived the onslaught. He hadn't heard Adam fire, but heard what he said next.

"The next time, they'll be shooting from further away."

"Why?"

"They were so focused on shooting at you that none of them fired at the window until I shot twice. I aimed at the muzzle flashes. I think I got one of them with the second shot. That's when they stopped shooting. We probably need to put something over part of this window though. Next time, they'll be shooting in this direction."

Upending the table, Joe got it in position to block the window with only a slight space for a firing slit at one side. It was a good plan because within about fifteen minutes, there was a barrage of fire that blew out the window and most of the framing around it. Joe moved to the door, cracked it open, and fired three rapid shots into the muzzle flashes ending that barrage. He guessed that perhaps he might have wounded one of them too. He hoped it was worse, but in the dark, that was only luck. Adam moved back to the bed and collapsed on it. The effort he had expended had exhausted him even more than he had been when they arrived. Joe's momentary gladness was gone replaced by even greater worry. Adam added to it with his next words before he fell into a deep sleep.

"We've probably gotten a break, but by now, they've learned. It won't be as easy for us the next time."

As Adam closed his eyes then, Joe paced. His nerves were so frayed that there was no way that he could relax. He wouldn't want to do that anyway as one of them needed to stay awake, and he knew that Adam couldn't. As he thought about that, he knew that he had less than a day to resolve this problem because he wouldn't be able to sleep or they would win. He sat in the chair for a short time and then stood and stared out the small slit of the window that was still available watching to be sure that no one approached. The only thing in their favor was the nearly full moon and clear sky. Somehow he wondered how that could help him in a plan. It was hours later and another threat was made before he began to think of what he had to do. It was the threat that actually gave him the seed of an idea. He guessed it was probably about two in the morning when he was hailed again.

"Yo, in the cabin. We ain't too happy with you two. Now you got one chance left. You throw out the money and we let you live, or we're gonna burn you out. We can keep enough bullets flying that you won't be able to do what you done the last two times, and one of us is gonna toss a few torches up on that roof. You'll come out then with the money and maybe get shot down like dogs and that will be by our choice or you'll burn and that would be your choice. You got a couple of hours to decide. Then that's it. We ain't waiting around until your friends come back for you."

Unable to see Adam in the dark, Joe knew he hadn't awakened because his breathing never changed and he said nothing. Joe didn't answer the man outside. There was no answer necessary. He stood there though and thought until he had a plan. Then he began organizing and hoping it would work. It had to work, or both he and Adam would likely be dead by morning. He waited as long as he thought he could before he woke Adam to tell him the plan and begin implementing it.

Chapter 4

Dawn was showing before the leader of the outlaws decided it was time. He told the only one of his men who wasn't wounded that he needed to get the torches and head to the side of the cabin near where the stream came tumbling down the slope.

"When you get in position, we'll start shooting and keep them pinned inside so they can't see you. You come up that slope and throw two torches on the roof. Put one at the side that doesn't have a door or window. It will burn a lot before they even know it's there. If there's any wood or grass you can throw on that one to get it burning better, do it. Then head back down the slope. The smoke will help hide you by then too. Once you're in the clear, we'll stop shooting and wait for them to come out."

"What if they go out the back?"

"Only delays things a little while if they try to make a run for it. They gotta come right at us and we got our horses ready plus we can shoot at them as they ride down the slope. Easy as can be to pick them off if they try it."

"There hasn't been a word from them or anything. Maybe we shot them with that last bunch of shooting last night. We sent an awful lot of bullets through that window."

"Maybe. You want to walk on up there and check?"

With a snort of disgust, the man turned and gathered up the torches they had made. They had used the shirt from one of the men who had been wounded after bandaging him and putting him in his clean shirt using one of their clean shirts for a bandage. He was going to be shooting with one hand for a while so he would be forced to use a pistol. It wouldn't matter probably as they mainly wanted to keep two men pinned inside the cabin. The other man had received a painful although superficial gash across his side. A lot of skin had been torn causing a lot of bleeding but he could still shoot normally. They had packed that wound as well as they could to stop the bleeding. He was going to be in pain for a long time though. They used the bloody cloth torn into strips to wrap around pine sticks they had found and then smeared some pine tar on that. Once lit, they would be difficult to extinguish and would hopefully ignite the wood on the roof and the side of the cabin. Then the four expected to wait for the two inside to come out. Regardless of what had been said, they planned to kill them as soon as they could, take the money, and ride out. They waited until the fourth man was in position and then started the firing barrage so he could run up with the lit torches. It went according to plan and the torches were on the roof smoking as was the one at the side of the cabin.

"I thought you said they would start it on fire."

"They will. Just give them some time."

Almost by prophecy, they saw flames lick up into the air from the first torch. It took another five minutes and then the second torch caused the same thing to happen, and soon after, flames were climbing the side of the cabin too. Within fifteen minutes, the cabin was on fire, but no one emerged. They waited and nothing happened. They got ready for a charge down the hill thinking the two men had gone out the back and would be riding down the hill on their two horses, but again nothing happened. As minutes passed and the cabin was an inferno, the outlaw leader stood and swore using every expletive and profanity that he knew. The others wondered a moment at his furor until he looked at them and explained.

"Damn, Darren, you were right. We must have hit them last night and now they couldn't get out. I should have checked out what you said because now that money has gone and burned up with them. For a short time, they watched the cabin burn until the roof collapsed down into the cabin guaranteeing that no one could be alive inside. The leader turned toward their horses. Eugene and I will ride up there to check to make sure they're not simply sitting behind that mess. Then we'll be back and we'll be riding on out of here."

"We taking their horses at least?"

Angry at what had happened, the leader snapped at his men. "We just killed two men. We're not taking horses with their brand on them. No one knows we're involved in this. There's no reason to give them a clue, is there? We leave it like this and it looks like an accident. So let's ride. We can be in Placerville in a couple of days. We'll stay there for a bit until we find a way to get some money."

It wasn't long before the men were only distant specks down the valley and then disappeared in the trees. Back against the cliff behind a boulder laying under a blanket covered by brush that was also well coated with dirt, Joe Cartwright watched and then finally threw off the filthy covering and pulled another from his older brother who was sleeping again at his shoulder. Beginning to giggle then, Joe woke Adam with that and a light shake of his shoulder. The hardest part of hiding had been making sure that Adam made no sound that would have given them away. Luckily the fire made quite a bit of noise so that had helped. His plan had worked. They were alive and the outlaws were gone. In the dead of night, Joe had hauled two saddles, their blankets, and saddlebags of food out to the one spot he thought they could use to hide. The hardest part had been getting Adam there and situated before it got light. His older brother had needed rest but almost since they had gotten here, he had been part of the drama of fighting the men who thought they had money.

The next task for Joe was setting up a camp with minimal supplies. He shook out the two blankets and pulled their saddles out and set them up for a more comfortable resting arrangement and told Adam to try to get some sleep. He went to retrieve the frying pan and coffee pot that he had tossed in the small spring thinking that the outlaws wouldn't see them in there. After he got a small fire and a pot of coffee brewing, he took care of the horses before moving back to the camp they had and dropping down next to Adam who was still awake because he had been watching Joe.

"You did well, Joe. All of this was a tough thing for somebody your age to have to do and you did it well."

"Adam, I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-two years old. I'm a man."

Adam smiled. "Yes, you are. Now maybe we can both get some sleep."

Closing his eyes, Adam was soon asleep. Joe had been going to object to say that he would fix breakfast but realized he wasn't as hungry as he was sleepy. He moved the coffee away from the fire and followed his older brother's example still smiling over the compliment. Adam didn't hand out compliments unless they were deserved so he knew he had earned it. He thought about what he had done, and he gave himself a pat on the back too. It had been a good plan, and even better, it had worked. Now they only needed to rest, hope it didn't rain, and wait for Hoss to arrive to help or for Adam to feel even better so they could begin the ride to home.

That night, they lay back on their saddles sipping coffee and looking at the stars in a clear sky once more. They were both more rested so there wasn't that need to fall asleep so quickly. They watched the flames dance a bit. When Joe got up to fill his cup, he offered some to Adam who accepted by holding his cup out for the refill.

"Thank you, Joe, for everything."

It was a simple phrase but it meant so much to Joe who knew what Adam meant. When someone saves your life, there aren't enough words in the language to express how you feel. All you can do is to say what's in your heart as sincerely as you can say it. Adam had done that. Joe responded in kind knowing it wasn't the moment for any kind of flippant response.

"You're welcome. It's what we do for each other."

"It is." Pausing for a little while and needing to change the mood for both of them, Adam looked at the still smoldering ruins of the cabin. "Lots of memories in that smoke."

"There are always memories in smoke, aren't there?"

Nodding, Adam realized that he hadn't changed the subject as much as opened a new avenue of discussion so he moved on down that one. "We'll have to rebuild this cabin."

"We don't really own this land though. I mean, it's not part of the Ponderosa even if it's close, is it?"

"No, it's close but not ours. We built it a long time ago when we ran trap lines and this valley was the end of where we ran them. Then we used it for hunting, and we've always run cattle through here so we've used it then too."

"Who does own it?"

"No one except the state, I guess. It's surrounded by land no one wants. It's a nice little valley but isolated. There's room here for a little ranch and that's about all. You could probably run perhaps fifty cattle here but that's about it."

"Yeah, when we stop here on the cattle drives, the herd eats all the grass in a day."

"The cabin was getting old and dried out. It will be nice to have a new one."

"So you don't mind that I let them burn it down?"

"Not at all. You cleared the building site and made a nice pile of charcoal too in case we need a nice pile of charcoal for something."

"You must be feeling better because you're back to your smart alecky way of talking."

"I am feeling better thanks to you. I'm still tired, but the fever and headache and other problems are a lot less. We can start for home tomorrow."

"We'll wait here tomorrow and rest more. I want that fire out completely and want to be sure that no one is going to be following us and that you won't fall out of the saddle. Then we'll leave."

"All right, boss." With a grin, Adam set his empty cup aside and slid down to go to sleep for the night as Joe shook his head at his brother.

The next day was spent cleaning up the area a bit and stacking the wood that hadn't burned completely into the center of the area so it could be used in the future for fires. They didn't work too much as Joe wanted to be sure that Adam didn't exert himself and get too tired. Joe took care of the horses who were very well rested after several days there. They made plans to leave the next morning. They were in no hurry as they expected that Adam wouldn't hold up to a long day of riding anyway so they were surprised by Hoss' arrival midmorning about the time they planned to leave. Hoss rode in looking like man on a mission because from down the slope all he could see was that the cabin was gone. He had a hand, Max, with him and both came in riding hard only to pull up on seeing Adam and Joe with the horses getting ready to ride out. Hoss sat there open-mouthed in shock wondering what had happened so Joe began explaining before he could even ask any questions. When Joe finished, Hoss said what Joe had been thinking.

"Boy, Joe, you sure was caught between a rock and a hard place. Ya done good though. Now, soon as we get Adam home, I think we oughta head on over to Placerville and meet up with these men and maybe get a little justice for you."

"Hoss, I was thinking the same thing."

"Wait a minute, you two. I'm not an invalid. I can come with you." Adam stood there, still pale but at least able to stand on his own and probably handle the ride.

Joe wasn't sure that Adam could hold up in a fight though he quickly thought about it and knew he wouldn't stay behind either. "You can come, but you're going to have to be back-up. You have to let me and Hoss handle it. You back us up."

Both Hoss and Max could see that Adam struggled with that but even Adam had to see the logic of it. He reluctantly agreed. "All right. I'll be back-up. This time. Don't think that means that I'll take orders from you after this though."

"Of course not, older brother. I know how you like to be bossy."

Joe got one of those classic glares from Adam for that, but before they mounted up on their horses, Hoss noted that Adam grinned too. He relaxed then knowing the two were only doing their usual thing. Max volunteered to go with them, and Joe explained then what they had heard the men say about Placerville. He told them that two of the outlaws were wounded, but that only one was likely going to be easily identifiable because of that.

Chapter 5

Two and a half days later, Joe led his little group into Placerville and up to the sheriff's office. They had set a steady pace but not a hard one. Hoss had brought extra food, and they had gotten some small game along the way so they had had plenty to eat, but they made sure to take frequent breaks because of Adam, and gave him all the time he needed to sleep at night too. Even knowing that they were taking care of him didn't make Adam do any complaining about it and that let them know how necessary those breaks and restful nights were. Aware that no one was stalking them helped as well because there was no tension allowing them to relax each evening and to sleep without worries. After briefing the sheriff on what had happened and finding out from him that he hadn't seen any wounded men in town, they headed to the telegraph office to let their father know where they were. Joe wondered why the sheriff hadn't seen the wounded men, but Adam used his usual practical thinking. Even tired as he was, he was thinking clearly.

"Men like that don't want to draw attention to a gunshot wound. It leads to all sorts of questions and they don't have good answers."

"Yep, and then folks are likely gonna be watching them too wondering what they're gonna be doin' next. I figure they're laying low waitin' on the next ones they figure to ambush."

Both Adam and Max agreed with Hoss' assessment. It made sense. Joe led the way to the hotel where he and Hoss shared a room as did Adam and Max who got one overlooking the street with the additional benefit of having access to the balcony. Joe laid out what he thought was the best way to proceed for the rest of the day.

"I figure that soon enough, they're going to see me and Adam and know we didn't die. When they do that, they'll probably come gunning for us. The sheriff knew it too and that's why he told us he'd send a deputy to watch over us. I think we can take advantage of that."

"How you figure on that, little brother?"

But Adam guessed. "He figures to make us targets and draw them out."

"No, I figure on making me a target with Hoss to back me up. You're in no shape to get in a gunfight." Adam was going to erupt at that except Joe raised his hand for a chance to finish. "I want you to stay here and watch. We'll set Max up downstairs to keep an eye out for four men especially if they look like they're following us or heading for us."

Thinking for only a brief moment, Adam smiled. "That's not half bad, little brother. They'll think they're up against two of you and it could be five if things work to our favor."

Looking rather proud of himself, Joe looked at Max and Hoss who were properly impressed too. Joe hadn't actually figured out all the logistics of it, but once Adam pointed it out, he realized that in fact, that's how it would work if he and Hoss stayed on the main street near the hotel. He decided the smart thing to do would be exactly that and try to draw the outlaws into that setup. With all in agreement, Hoss and Joe went out to do some scouting around leaving Max as a lookout at the front door of the hotel to watch for four men together as Adam watched from the window of the room upstairs. Max had a description from Joe so he knew in general who to watch for, and Adam had a fair idea of what they looked like, but even Joe knew little more than that except that he had seen them in daylight as they milled around the still burning cabin. Adam had left him with a warning though.

"Joe, they're going to recognize you much better than you recognize them. They were watching us for days. They'll know Hoss too. You two watch your backs and head back here in an hour even if you don't see anyone you know. Don't give them any more time than that to ambush you somewhere."

Hoss answered for them. "Don't you worry. That's the plan. We'll draw them out and back this way. They won't know we got backup." Then Hoss paused. "Joe, mebbe we oughta let the sheriff know exactly what we're doing insteada lettin' him guess or his deputy guess. His deputy kin kinda keep an eye out too. You know, kinda lay back but stay close enough and see ifn anybody follows us."

"I was already thinking that, Hoss. Let's go there first. Then we'll grab some food and then hit a few saloons."

"I like the way you think, little brother. I like it a lot. Adam, mebbe we oughta put Joe in charge more often."

That got a smirk from Adam so Hoss knew he was feeling better even if he still looked tired. When they left him in the room and left Max downstairs, they promised to bring back some food. It didn't take long to do what they wanted as the sheriff was willing to go along with their plan as long as they promised not to go gunning for anyone. Joe said he couldn't because he didn't think he could be sure of whom they were after enough to do that. But he repeated the argument that Adam and Hoss had made that the four would recognize him and Hoss so would likely come after them. He hoped the sheriff would be around to help if that happened. He said he would and told one of his deputies to follow closely but discreetly as the two brothers made the rounds.

About a half hour later in a cheap hotel at the edge of town, one of the four outlaws rushed into a room to inform the others that Joe Cartwright wasn't dead and was in town with his big brother. He hadn't seen Adam so he didn't know he was alive.

"Damn, I wonder where he was hiding. Musta been back in those rocks. Skinny thing could have been there. We should have looked for bodies I guess."

"He went to the sheriff already."

"Well, he's the only witness. Without him, they got nothing. I guess we need to do something about him and quick like. It's four on two. Why don't we go take care of it before they find out where we are and sic the sheriff on us?"

"Yeah, that's good. Two of us down the street so they can call us out." Pointing at the others, he formulated the plan on the fly. "And you two as backup." Indicating the one with the bum left arm, the leader told him to stay on the walk to the far side, and told the other man to get around behind the two Cartwrights. "When shooting starts, people always duck and hide. Nobody is gonna know where any of the shots came from. These fights are always so wild, lots of times innocent folks get shot so they'll be hightailing it for cover soon as they see guns clearing leather."

"That's when we take care of them for you?"

"You take care of them before they shoot us!"

"Oh, right."

The four outlaws loaded their pistols then and headed out to confront the Cartwrights. Joe and Hoss hadn't had any luck finding anyone and no one was following them back to the hotel. They felt that the plan had failed. Joe didn't recognize the men approaching them when he saw them because there were only two who walked toward him and Hoss. It could have been any two men like any of the other men in town that they had seen. It was Max who thought something was odd seeing two men approaching Joe and Hoss, but there was one man to the left and one to the right keeping pace with them. He called out to Joe but that alerted the men that he was with the brothers.

"Joe, is that them?"

Upstairs though, it alerted Adam too who had stepped out on the balcony. Seeing then part of what Max had seen when he saw the man across the street keeping pace with the two approaching Hoss and Joe, he got ready pulling his pistol and resting it on the balcony railing even as he knelt down to steady his aim. He guessed he was going to need it.

Pausing in the street, Joe muttered to Hoss that it was them before he addressed the two men. He hadn't noticed the other two yet. "I bet you're surprised I'm not dead. Did the two we wound get worse and die? Not that I would mind, but I was hoping to hand all four of you over to the sheriff."

"Now what would you do that for? We're just walking down the street, and you challenge us like some two bit gunfighter? Who are you anyway? Let us pass, and there doesn't need to be any trouble, but we will defend ourselves if need be."

Even as he said it though for the benefit of any witnesses, the leader of the outlaws was slowly moving his hand toward his pistol. People saw it and began moving to cover in a hurry. The deputy never had a chance to go tell the sheriff because the outlaws drew down on Hoss and Joe as well as Max. Adam was ready up above and saw the man across the street draw and took him out before he ever had a chance to fire. The man behind the two outlaws in the street saw Adam do that and fired at him causing splinters to fly from the balcony railing. Joe glanced up and saw Adam duck backwards and out of sight. Even as he did that, Joe was turning and fired taking out the man behind him even as Hoss, the deputy, and Max fired at the two in the street who had not realized that the deputy and Adam were arrayed against them too. It was all over in thirty seconds. Max was winged and fell back as the pain penetrated. Joe ran to him and wrapped a bandana tightly around his arm to staunch the bleeding. He asked if there was someone who could take Max to a doctor, and the deputy was soon there to tell two men to help Max to do that. Then Joe saw that Hoss was holding a hand to his side and blood was coming between his fingers.

"Hoss, you're hit!"

"Knicked my hide only a bit. Burns something fierce, but I'll be all right. Bleeding like a stuck pig though."

A man came out of the saloon then with a towel, which he handed to Hoss who gratefully pressed it against his side with Joe's help as Joe pulled his shirt from away from the wound and unbuttoned it for him. Joe was relieved to find that Hoss was telling the truth. The wound was only about a quarter inch deep but was about six inches long so it was bleeding quite a lot.

"Hoss, you should let the doctor pack that so it doesn't get infected."

"Aw, he's busy with Max now. I think the bullet went clean through his arm, but he'll need to have it cleaned out and then stitched up. I kin go over there later. How come Adam didn't come down."

"I don't know. I saw him duck down and haven't seen him since."

Both Hoss and Joe looked up at the balcony then, and there was still no sign of Adam and it had been several minutes already. Joe called his name and there was no response.

"Hoss, I gotta go check on Adam."

"Well, I'm going with ya. I ain't letting this little sting stop me."

The two brothers raced to the hotel, up the stairs to the second floor, and into Adam's room where there was no sign of him. They headed to the window and looked out to the balcony, and there he lay. Joe climbed out the window and rushed to Adam's side and then turned in disgust to Hoss. "He's sleeping!"

With that, Adam roused and looked up at Joe. "Hi, Joe. Say, could you help me up? They shot at me, and I meant to back up, but I fell instead and banged my head. I was going to close my eyes because I was dizzy, but I just fell asleep instead."

"You're not shot, are you?"

"No, just sleepy. You didn't need any more help, did you?"

Joe heard Hoss laughing in the room as he left to go to their room to get another towel to press on his wound. Joe helped Adam to his feet and back through the window and into the bed where he promptly fell asleep.

A week later on a Saturday afternoon, the four men rode into the yard at the Ponderosa and Ben rushed outside anxious to see his sons. He had gotten two telegrams. One to say they were in Placerville after some outlaws, and one the next day to say they had gotten them but that Max and Hoss had minor wounds and they needed to spend a few days resting up. Nothing had been said about Joe or Adam so Ben had prayed for the best. Now he saw Adam looking better but thinner. When Adam dismounted, Ben was there to greet his eldest son.

"You're feeling all right?"

"I am. I'm hungry. I haven't been eating much but now my appetite is back. You look like you've had about the same experience."

"I have. It knocked me off my feet for a bit, but I'm feeling all right now. Hop Sing will be more than happy to hear that you want to eat. Now Hoss, how are you doing?"

Moving to his second son, Ben was concerned, but Hoss waved him off.

"It was just a little sting. Joe shouldna even mentioned it. I'm fine. Did you say Hop Sing was cooking?" Hoss followed Adam into the house in search of food as their father smiled. If all that was on Hoss' mind was food, then he was feeling as fine as he said he was. There was no reason to worry about his two older sons.

Joe was helping Max with his things as he headed to the bunkhouse. Ben was soon there to help too.  
"Max, I am so grateful that you helped my sons. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I wouldn't mind a little tobacco for my pipe if that wouldn't be too much trouble."

"I'll bring some of my best out here as soon as I get Joe inside with his brothers."

Joe winked at Max as Ben headed out of the bunkhouse because he had coached Max to ask for that knowing his father would agree and that Max would enjoy that moment very much. Max grinned in response. There was no reward greater for him than to have the great Ben Cartwright waiting on him even if it was only this one time. All the other hands had heard too and they would see it happen. It was perfect in his mind. Outside the bunkhouse, Ben waited for his youngest son.

"Joe, you're not hurt? Everything's fine?"

"Yes, Pa, I'm fine. Not hurt at all." Joe kept talking and as they got inside where Adam and Hoss could hear, Joe began his storytelling. "You see, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as Hoss said, and I needed a plan. I always say, you need a plan when you're in a bind like that, so I analyzed the situation and thought about what a general might do. I mean, what kind of forces did I have, and what resources could I use. It was like moving pieces on a chessboard. I was in command the whole way, Pa. Then blam, in Placerville, it was checkmate, and they didn't know it until it was toes to the sky. Pa, it was great. Let me tell you first about how I outsmarted them at the cabin. Oh, by the way, we're going to need a new hunting cabin. You know how it is when you're protecting your family: anything can be sacrificed as long as your family is safe. Now, those outlaws were pretty smart, but I outsmarted them. Oh, Adam helped a little bit."

Adam groaned, Hoss laughed, and Ben raised his eyebrows as Joe continued on with his story of derring-do worthy of any popular dime novel of the time. It was the price to pay for putting Joe in charge, and Joe was going to enjoy every minute of it. He wasn't going to talk about how sweat ran down his neck when those outlaws accosted them in the street. He wasn't going to say anything about how his insides felt like jelly when the cabin was burning, and he knew that Adam's life was in his hands. No, none of that was going to be part of his story because his family already knew those things. They had lived those dangers many times before and carried them in their souls. So he was going to tell them the fun story, the one that would be passed down in the family for future generations to hear. The rest of it would be in his bad dreams until enough good things happened to make those awful memories fade away enough about being in hard places and making hard decisions.


End file.
